Limit Break
by Midorima Kazunari
Summary: (Sequel to Phoenix Down). Following his surgery, Reno and Vincent try to make a new life in Cosmo Canyon... too bad for them; the quiet life just doesn't suit them.
1. Chapter 1 - Milestones

A/N: I meant to get this up yesterday, but life happened...

* * *

There's a yellowing piece of paper tacked to our ice box with a Razor Weed magnet. It's heavily crossed out and annotated with dates. The left column is a list of things I can do and the other side is for things I can't do. Both sides are almost full, but the right is mostly things that have been struck through. The left side has all my accomplishments, remembering each milestone. The list was Nanaki's idea to get rid of the crippling depression that began not soon after Vincent relocated us to Cosmo Canyon.

Our new home is beautiful. It is carved out of the very rock of the Canyon and it has a spectacular view, but there are way too many stairs. They are gentle, wide, and shallow, but for the first three days Vincent had to carry me up to our bedroom at night and down to the living room during the day.

So, the list starts off easy and celebrates the first time I was able to walk to the bathroom unassisted, or make toast, but then I got serious with my successes. It's not a great list, but it's mine. No one wants to focus on the things I can't ever do again, but I keep a mental list of those going so that no one else will know about it. It's much longer than five items. And in the few minutes I have by myself each day, I go over them again and cry. This morning as I search the list for flying, there is no trace of tears, and I'm able to recall all the other wonderful things that have balanced the ledger.

Vincent sits with his hip on the kitchen table and watches me. "It's about a third of the way down."

"I know, I'm just reminiscing. Like this one." I point to the one that says _Walked to CC Market and back_ _alone_ _!_ The emphasis is in bright red ink, like I'd won a prize instead of accomplishing the grocery shopping.

"That was a good day," he agrees, "but not as good as the one below that."

Of course he's talking about the day sex returned to our lives, about seven weeks after my surgery – which was far too long to wait and took too many frustrating, aborted tries to get right without me getting light-headed and nauseous with the pains of sped up breathing – but eventually we figured out the positions to avoid and got our act together.

"Everything else I could have lived without, but not that, yo," I say, smirking. "But today was good, too. I didn't think I'd ever fly again."

"And you didn't need the oxygen tank."

"Which was even better. I hate that damn thing."

"Your blood pressure and pulse rate seem to drop when the stick is in your hand."

"I've logged so many hours in the cockpit of a helicopter – it's easier than breathing, hell, everything's easier than breathing, really, but flying is all muscle memory and instinct. I just wish…"

"What?"

"That I'd been brave enough to give it a little more altitude."

"Next time – save it for next weekend, and our trip to the Gold Saucer."

"Now that'll be fun. How many RSVPs do we have now?"

"Everyone's in, they never thought you'd get to forty-five, in fact Rude said that you've ruined the odds-making, but there still coming."

"I didn't think I'd get to forty-five, either," I say ,chuckling. "This is gonna be the best damn party ever."

Vincent hears something; I can only tell because his eyes track to the door. He's not tense though, so it's most likely friendly. Yes, there it is, the telltale gallop of Nanaki's paws running down the path. There are only two kinds of housing in Cosmo Canyon: the older individual tent/huts along the main ridge and the honeycomb complex that was built in recent years in the valley where we live. Nanaki lives in the older section, and despite the hut next to him being for sale when we moved, this place seemed a better fit in my infirmity. Nanaki overshoots our door and slides heavily into the end of the hall; he back tracks.

"Reno," he calls. "Are you home?"

"Come on in," I respond. I still don't have much volume, but he can hear me just the same. There are no door locks in Cosmo Canyon, something that freaks me out a little, so he pushes the door open with his muzzle and lets himself in.

"I have a favor to ask."

I nod.

"I need someone to watch my class today. I've been summoned to this conference call between universities, and they scheduled it right smack in the middle of my afternoon class."

I go back to the list on the ice box and annotate today's accomplishment with the date.

"Reno, are you listening to me?"

"Course I am, but I'll be fine alone while Vincent teaches your class, don't worry about me."

"I don't want Vincent; I want you."

"Me?" I say, dropping my pencil. I don't even bother looking for it, because I must surely be asleep. What had I been thinking? Flying without an oxygen tank? That couldn't have happened.

"Normally, you're right, I would have picked Vincent, but you're better suited to this group."

"Are they thugs?" Vincent asks, chuckling.

"I think I'm being insulted here," I tut.

"No, they are learning their second lesson on electronics."

"Yeah, no, you don't want me. I never even got passed first grade."

"He certainly doesn't want me," Vincent says. "I know how to set the time on my watch and make a call on this travesty of a phone. I still haven't figured out how to block Yuffie yet. Other than that you know –"

"Yeah, you're a real disaster," I sigh.

"Reno, it's only a couple of hours, and I'd consider it a big favor." I owe Nanaki more than a few hours, he has been at our side from the very beginning of our relationship and all the way through my recovery.

"It's gonna be hard for me to get there. I just don't have the vitality and stamina I used to. When do you need me there?"

"Two hours from now, that's why I rushed. I want you, but I don't want to make you sick. If you leave now-ish, you'll have plenty of time."

"I was planning on giving this to you at your birthday party, but now seems like a better opportunity." Vincent tosses a package at me. I open the sack; it's a small yellow gourd with a tail.

"What is it?"

"A Guard Source. It will permanently improve your Vitality by one full point."

"Holy Jenova! This is rare shit, where did you find it?"

"When I went up to the Northern Crater with Cid and Nanaki last month on the Materia hunt, we finally beat the maze and it was on one of the paths."

"That was a good damn trip," I say, and I'm so nervous I'll drop it that I hand it back. "Will you open it for me?"

It tastes like sunshine; it's warm and lemony with a crisp aftertaste. I don't notice an immediate change, but I haven't done anything either.

"I'll thank you properly later, Vincent, but I think I'd better get goin' if I wanna make it there on time."

"Would you like me to walk with you?"

"Nah, you've gotta finish leveling up those new Materia. I want to play with that W-Magic."

"Alright, call if you need me."

* * *

There are one hundred stairs between me and Nanaki's classroom. Vincent and I have walked every step of Cosmo Canyon – all 1,043 – during my recovery. It's another one of those milestone things, but without my afternoon nap, I'm dreading the trip.

I stop at Starlet's Pub, and buy a bottle of water. It gives me an excuse to rest before taking the next set of stairs. I look at my watch; I've made it halfway in less than a half an hour. That's about ten minutes quicker than any previous time, so yeah, the Guard Source is actually doing something. Now, if I could just drink another dozen…

I arrive at the Observatory – all the way at the top of the freakin' Canyon – with fifteen minutes to spare. Nanaki is there and he's got a kid with him setting up the classroom.

Nanaki smiles at me as I collapse into the desk nearest the door. "You got here early! That Guard Source really did the trick."

* * *

"This is Reno Valentine and he's going to be your teacher today while I go to a meeting." I wave a little from the stool next to the podium.

"Aww," the room choruses; I grimace. It's not like I want to be here either; hell, I'm not even qualified.

"Mr. Valentine is an electronics expert and he's going to help you with your unit today. Which you should be grateful for, since I have no opposable thumbs," Nanaki chuffs.

"Thank you, Mr. Valentine," they say in unison.

"Um, yeah, you're welcome."

"Ok, everyone, please be attentive and well-behaved and if I get a good report tomorrow, I'll take you into the observatory for a special showing."

"Awesome!" squeaks the girl with the pink hair. I knew, on some level, that Nanaki only taught geniuses, but somehow I thought they'd be older-ish. Nanaki walks beneath the curtain that separates the classroom from the next room. Seven sets of eyes swivel to me.

"Um, so, uh, does anyone have a question for me before we, um," I shuffle the papers looking for the lesson plan Nanaki left me, but I can't find it. I forget to breathe for a second, but all of the children have their hands up.

"Ok, how about you," I say, pointing at the boy in the first row. He's wearing a green shirt.

"Is your hair naturally that color?" he asks.

"Yes," I answer truthfully. Vincent had hated the idea of ruining my hair, so I'd let the white come in naturally. I am, however, completely confused by the question. "Next?"

The teenage girl in pigtails strains her hand up as tall as possible. She looks like she has to go to the bathroom. "Are you married?"

"Yes, but –"

"What's your wife's name?" someone asks without raising their hand.

"Um, my husband's name is Vincent."

"Do you have any kids?" I've completely lost control of the situation.

"Um, no. Does anyone have a question about, like electronics?"

"How do you make sure to prevent short circuits?"

"Um, I…"

"That's easy, Professor Nanaki went over that yesterday, you have to make sure that the positive voltage is never wired directly to ground, duh!" says the girl with the pigtails.

"I guess, maybe we should get started on your lab," I say as I finally find the lesson plan under my bottle of water. It's soggy, but I can still read the information.

"Ok, so everyone grab a potato, two nails, and…"


	2. Chapter 2 - Turk Tuesdays

Turk Tuesdays change after we move out of Edge. We only meet once a month, and since I've been sidelined, they've always come to us. I'm eating a cup of yogurt with honey drizzled on top when Rude comes through the door. He's carrying a huge cooler that sloshes with the sound of ice, water, and glass bottles.

"Please tell me you brought some good stuff!" I plead. Vincent is very careful about the amount of alcohol I can consume because of my recovery, but he makes an exception for Turk Tuesdays.

"Only the best: 7th Heaven micro-brews. She's been experimenting with new flavors; she sent six of each for us to try. We've got to report back what worked, what didn't."

"Sweet!" I say, shoving the last spoonful of yogurt into my mouth. I scrape along the right angles of the container trying to get every last drop of honey out, but the rounded edge of the spoon is useless. I lick out what I can, even going so far as to use my finger, but there are delicious drops of golden goo that stubbornly stick in the crevices. I turn my plastic spoon over and use the sharp end to dig out the last bit. Rude stares at me, and shakes his head as if this isn't normal Reno behavior.

"What?" I demand, "I hate when that last little bit thinks it gonna get away without being eaten, yo!"

He continues to shake his head as he carries the cooler to the kitchen. Tseng, Elena, and Jade are close on his heels, each loaded down with grocery bags full of food from the Cosmo Canyon store.

"You know," I say, chucking the empty container into the recycling bin, "if you'd send a list, I could go to the store before ya'll arrive and save you the time and trouble."

"And it would be good physical therapy for him as well," Vincent says as he joins us. He's barefoot and limping, but he doesn't mind showing that weakness in front of our family, our friends.

"I never know what I want until I'm about to cook it," Rude says, "but you always love it, so stop complaining."

"Will it be something flashy this time?" I ask, hopping up and down like a two year old. Jade giggles.

"If you've got that much energy," Tseng says, "then perhaps we need to have the next Turk Tuesday at our house."

* * *

Rude makes honest to goodness tofu and veggie burgers from scratch; they look like flatten out balls of Chocobo shit, but when they go on the grill… they smell divine.

I sit on the lounge chair on the natural cut balcony off the living room with my feet propped up, a beer in one hand and the remnants of my third veggie burger on a plate in my lap. Jade is inside on the couch, trying to show 'Grandpa Vincent' how to play a racing game on his phone. "No, no," she moans, "like this!" It sounds hysterical, but I'm too tired to get out of my chair. Elena empties the last bit of the potato chips onto my plate.

"Eat, eat," she giggles, already on her fourth beer. She stumbles into the chair next to me, and flops bonelessly. At least I don't have to worry about her falling over the side and plunging to her death at the bottom of the Canyon. Rude and Tseng are in the kitchen, clearing up. Everything is right in the world.

My eyes drift closed, and I set the bottle and plate on the floor off to the right side where I won't accidentally step on them. Elena reaches across the space between us and interlocks her fingers into mine.

"What's wrong, Rookie?"

"Nothing," she says, yawning, "nothing at all, Senpai."

* * *

Most of the time Rude catches a ride home with Tseng and Elena, but this time he doesn't. After the others leave, he sits on the couch, his shoulder touching mine. His sunglasses are on the table, his shoes are off, and his head is tilted back on the sofa.

"How many beers did you drink?"

"At least six," he answers, hiccuping.

"Not that I mind or anything, but why are you still here?"

Vincent moves slowly through the room, picking up empty bottles, and putting them in a cardboard box for recycling. I can tell he's a little bit drunk, because he's not as graceful and I can hear the bottles rattling.

"Is he drunk?" Rude asks, bypassing my question.

"Not like I am, like you are; he's..."

"Pleasantly buzzed." Vincent provides the correct description, proving he's on the other side of drunk and heading toward sober already.

"Reno, you only drank, like, three beers," Rude accuses. "You can't be drunk."

"I know, I'm a light-weight now 'cause of my meds. It's not my fault," I say, nodding until I'm dizzy. "But really, why didn't you leave with Tseng and Elena?" I keep coming around to the point, worrying it like a dog with a bone. I'm horny, and if he's gonna stay the night, I'd might as well go take care of my frustrations by hand now, 'cause Vincent's not gonna help me out with company in the house.

"Trying to get rid of me, partner?"

"Nope, but if you're staying the night, I'll need to remember where the extra pillows and stuff are."

"In the linen closet," Vincent says from the kitchen.

"Oh, ok," I respond, "is that the closet near the bathroom?"

"Yes," Vincent says, coming back to the living room. He's done with the clean-up, and collapses into the arm chair next to the couch. I put my feet up on his lap.

"So, um Rude, I'm assuming you want to talk about something."

He sits completely still and makes a non-comital sound in the back of his throat. Vincent pushes my feet to the side and stands. "I've got this thing with… Nanaki; I'll be back," he announces, and is gone before I can say anything.

"Is it safe for him to be walking around like that?" Rude asks.

"He's fine. What's the problem?" I'm a little annoyed that Rude won't talk in front of my husband, so I'm a bit brusque.

"I just… Why am I the last Turk alone?"

"Whoa, that's… dude, you're making me sober. Save all that deep stuff for when I'm not shit-faced."

"Even _you_ have someone? What's wrong with me, Reno?"

"What the hell does that mean?" I get up and head into the kitchen. There are two half-empty bottles in the sink. I take them both and head back to the couch. I keep one and hand the other to Rude.

"Do I have even worse karma than you? Did you rub all your cooties on me?"

"Gaia," I sigh. "Well, when was the last time you went on a date? You have to get out there and, you know, actually look."

"…," he says.

"Name the last five people you dated." I swig the remaining couple of sips quickly, hoping to regain my inebriation, but this serious conversation is chasing it all away.

"… Chelsea –"

"You mean the spy from Avalanche who tried to bug you at the Seventh Heaven back in '01? That's pathetic and it doesn't count. Try again." I tip the bottle upside down and hold it over my tongue. Two or three little drops of blueberry-flavored ale hit the center of my tongue and then the bottle is dry. I put the bottle on the table, knowing that Vincent would shake his head at me, but not really caring.

"Tifa at the karaoke party –"

"Also doesn't count, that was a group date. Next?"

Rude pauses, chugging the entire contents of his bottle in three mighty gulps. "… you –"

"If you think having sex with me one time counts as a date, it's no wonder you are still alone. Good Gaia, man, a one-night stand doesn't count as a dating relationship. You are pathetic, that's why you are alone."

"It's not my fault, no one understands a Turk, but a Turk. You and Tseng both found former Turks to marry. I'm the odd man out."

"Is there anyone you are interested in? Maybe Vincent and I could do a double-date or something, to make you less awkward."

"Tifa, but she's…taken."

"She is, Rude; it is time to move on," I say, putting my hand on his knee, giving it a comforting squeeze. He puts his hand on top of mine for a second, then pushes it away so he can lean forward and place his bottle on the floor by his feet.

"Everyone our age is either taken, married, or divorced six times. Single people our age are pathetic," he complains, falling back into the overstuffed couch.

"I don't think you get to be that picky, Rude. Single is all you can hope for, divorced or not. Stop looking for something perfect and start being open to those around you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've got a gorgeous guy, you don't get to tell me to aim lower."

"He's just as broken as I am," I say.

"Together you are whole and that makes me so fucking jealous," he says, yawning.

I turn my head so I can look at him, but he's passed out on the couch, snoring. I pull myself together enough to stumble up the stairs and find the linen closet. There are extra blankets and pillows, as Vincent promised. By the time I get back down stairs and tuck Rude into the couch, Vincent is sneaking in the front door, trying not to make any noise. He nods at me and heads up to our bedroom.

Rude's right, of course, we are only whole together and the conversation rattles me enough that I hide in Vincent's arms the rest of the night, pretending that I somehow deserve him.


	3. Chapter 3 - Denah's Altar

Sorry about posting off schedule. The real life drama caught up to me, but hopefully that's all straightened out now.

* * *

Whenever he needs a day off, or an hour's relief, Nanaki taps me to take his place, despite my protests, and eventually I start to enjoy it.

Today, I'm teaching a unit on Chemistry disguised as cooking. Nanaki's done all the hard work of teaching them what processes are happening when the food is mixed together, the side-effects of spices, and the physical change and breakdown with the application of heat, but I get to show them how to boil eggs, prepare fresh mayonnaise, then make the egg salad and the loaf of bread from scratch in order to eat it all.

I'm pretty sure my lessons aren't actually part of any curriculum, but are things he knows I can't mess up. I don't really care, because now the kids cheer when I come in the class instead of groan.

We finish making the project and take it outside to the ridge and eat it picnic-style. After the kids scarf down their experiments, I send them off to play and I walk over and sit cross-legged in front of Deneh's altar.

"So, we're going to the Gold Saucer for my birthday this weekend," I tell the absolutely still and quiet Deneh as she stares out at the setting sun.

"I don't know if you've ever been there," I continue, "but you should get Nanaki to take you there on a date once you're free. It's a lot of fun." I finish my sandwich and toss the thick crust off to a bird nearby. "Don't tell Vincent I didn't eat the crust, ok? He'll just think I'm being childish."

She says nothing of course, but I don't feel silly for talking to her. Vincent and I stumbled upon her during one of my therapy walks months ago and I'd fallen down on my knees and begged her forgiveness while he watched me, mutely. I'd come up here many times since then, just to talk to her.

"So, when no one comes to visit you tomorrow, it's my fault, so don't blame Nanaki. Right now he and my Vincent are out looking for a Contain Materia. It's only found in some weird-ass quest in Mideel." I look around to make sure none of the kids heard me. We made cookies earlier too, great big misshapen things with nuts and bits of fruit. Mine is still warm and gooey; I eat one in a single bite. The kid's begin playing an impromptu game of kick the can with an empty soda can. Their giggles and laughter spill over us.

"I hope you will like Nanaki after all the years and obstacles he's overcome. I don't know what he was like before, but he's pretty cool now. He's strong and brave, but he's also smart and tender. You've got yourself a good male, if you want him. He's gonna make a great dad –"

"Reno?"

My head pops up and I look straight into Nanaki's eyes.

"Oh, um, you're back early," I stutter. "Well, that's embarrassing."

"Yes, we had wonderful trip thanks to the Mastered Chocobo Lure and Luck Plus Materia. We found three Contains. Vincent is on his way home now."

"Really? Awesome!"

"It was a good day's work. How was the class?"

"Yummy," I say, gesturing to the blanket where not a single speck of food can be seen.

"Wonderful. What were you doing when I came up?"

"Oh, well…" I look back to Deneh and sigh. "When you're gone, I come up and talk to her. I figure she probably gets pretty lonely without you here. The kids said you bring them here all the time for lunch. So, yeah, that's what I was doing."

"You talk to her often then?"

"At least once or twice a week. That's ok, right? I'm kinda hoping she remembers this and forgets about the first time we met."

"I think it is wonderful that you talk to her, Reno. Thank you. And don't be so hard on yourself. The first time we met, you allowed us to finish the ritual. You didn't have to do that. You could have killed one of us, forced us to comply, but you didn't."

"Don't make me sound like a saint, Nanaki. I kidnapped you so Hojo could experiment on you."

"But you had choices on how you could fulfill your orders. You don't know how much I appreciated it. And I know she'll appreciate that you didn't forget her, or her sacrifice."

"How much longer 'till she can come off the altar?"

"Twenty-nine years."

"Shit, I'd be seventy-four then. I guess I don't need to worry what she'll think of me; if I'm still alive, I probably won't remember my own name by then."

He chuckles. "What are you going to do now?"

"I think I'll go home. I need a nap."

"You're welcome to stay and nap in my rooms. By the time you get home, it'll be time to turn around for the town hall meeting."

"Ugh," I groan, "I'd forgotten all about that. I guess I'll call Vincent and see if he wants to go to the meeting."

"He promised me that he would be there. There are some big issues to be discussed today."

"I'll call him then, and tell him I'm staying on this side of town," I take out my phone. "At least I can take a nap."

"Or you could join us in the observatory; I promised the kids a special showing if they were good today… we'll be looking at the constellations."

"I'm totally down for that, yo. Let me just make a quick call."

"See you inside."

I fall asleep listening to Nanaki's voice narrate a history of the constellations. I wake up momentarily when Vincent slips into the seat next to me and twines his fingers with mine, but otherwise there is nothing but rest and good dreams as I lean back in my chair…

* * *

"Now we'll take a vote on issue number twenty-six, the request to install a satellite dish on the North rim of the canyon," says the meeting facilitator, Wahkan. I'm told his name means 'has much practice' in the native language of the people of Cosmo Canyon, but to be able to call for a vote of issue number twenty-six, two hours after the meeting started, I want to call him, "soon to be throttled."

Twenty-five of the passed issues have been of zero concern of mine: a permit for a wedding party to use the circle in the main part of town, the formation of a rain dance committee, repairing the roof on Starlet's Pub, switching days for recycling pick-up – ok, that one is sort of important to me, but I could have just read about it in the minutes every household will get after the meeting – new restrictions on fireworks, and on and on and on, ad nasuem for the last two hours.

I sag into Vincent's side and he puts his arm around me.

"Would anyone like to speak in favor of the request?"

"I would!" says Tahcawin. Her name means 'doe,' but I think whoever named her had a sick sense of humor, because she is one of the largest women I've ever met. She's not fat, mind you, but a bodybuilder whose arm is wider than my thigh. "The people of the Canyon would be served…"

I tune out. I don't care about satellite reception. We have one of the best internet service providers I've ever encountered in the Canyon, and I can stream anything I want to watch, including the news out of every major city in Gaia. Hell, I can watch the news in Wutai if I want, so getting a few extra channels means nothing to me.

"I don't know why we're even voting on this," I mumble to Vincent. "We don't live on the North Rim, if the people there don't want it, then that –"

"Mr. Valentine, would you like to address the floor?" Wahkan asks.

"Sorry, not really, I was just telling my husband that I think this should be an issue decided by people who live on the North Rim, as it will be affecting their property values and view, not us South Rimmers."

"That's a good point, Mr. Valentine, but next time please remember to raise your hand and wait to be acknowledged. Tahcawin gives me a look that says she'd hurt me if I wasn't a walking medical disaster. I give her a weak smile, ducking my head to say I'm sorry.

"The vote does not pass, we will table the satellite proposal until technology or tastes change. Now, we only have one last issue to deal with today. Recently we've found that people have been dumping in the South Pass near the water supply. While I have no doubt that this not the work of any Cosmo Canyon citizen, we will all have to be more vigilant. We're going to take donations today for the clean-up, and we'll be adding a guard to the south entrance. We can't have our water supply endangered in this way, we want the Canyon to be a clean, safe place for us, our children, and our children's great-great-great-grandchildren into the future."

Zitkala ('Bird') begins walking among the gathering, holding out a bucket for the donations, when she gets to us, I toss in twenty-thousand Gil. She looks at me, "Are you sure, Reno? That's a lot of money."

I nod, "This is our home. We've got to take care of it." I want to say it is only money and that we're more than comfortable, but that'll sound like a boast. It's not common knowledge that we have a half-dozen Mastered All Materia in a box under our bed, worth more than 1,400,000 Gil a piece for a rainy day, or a dozen newly born All Materia waiting to be leveled up. I wish I could actually go out and help with the clean-up, but that's got to be done by someone who knows how not to contaminate the nearby water, I get that, so this is all I can do.

"Now, onto better things," Odakotah (friendship) says. He's our Community Center Director and this is the part of the evening I wish I could avoid the most. "This month's birthdays are: June first: Mika, June sixth: Reno, June fourteenth: Sintay Galeska…" I tune out as the crowd around me is suddenly very interested in patting me on the back, hugging me, and giving me a general warm feeling of welcome and love. It's strange, how over the years I'd given up on celebrating and focused more on surviving, but it's actually nice to be the center of attention again.


	4. Chapter 4 - Haunted Hotel

Nanaki, Vincent, and I arrive at the Gold Saucer at around three that afternoon, even though we don't need to be there until 10 pm. We each have our own reasons for wanting to be there early – Nanaki insists that he wants to watch live Chocobo racing, Vincent says we need time to check into the Haunted Hotel and nap, and I just want to have time to panic and land the helicopter early if I fuck up.

The Haunted Hotel is kitschy, with its ghost-themed decor, but it is the first time I've been in a themed hotel and I love everything about it. We get the honeymoon suite, with a colossal bed, trimmed in red velvet curtains, and a hot tub. Through the first year of recovery, I have been unable to swim or soak in a tub, but after that I just didn't have the opportunity, so this will be another first I can add to the list. I kick off my shoes, as I start the water flowing, and begin to strip.

"It will take a good hour for that thing to fill." Vincent looks at me, the corner of his mouth quirks up. He leads my gaze to the bed. "Perhaps we can find another way to fill the time?"

* * *

I'm dozing lightly while Vincent spoons me from behind. He's not quite asleep, but he's at rest and his breathing is slow. The clock reads 4:15 pm; the bath is ready and the water is churning, I'm a little bit hungry, but not enough to suggest getting out of bed yet.

 _Wutai Style_ blasts from Vincent's phone on dresser at the end of the bed. He's still a little out of it, so he reaches for Cerberus and points it at the source of the interruption. I lunge after him and push his arm down.

"It's just your phone," I say. He's panting hard, and all the benefits from the last relaxing hour goes away completely for both of us. It rings through one more time and then silences.

"Why does she insist on calling my phone? It's mine, not hers." It's an argument I've heard too many times, yet he refuses to allow me to block her number for him, or get rid of that horrible ring tone she'd programmed in.

I climb out of bed as he lays back and tries to reclaim some of his calm. The phone chimes again, indicating he has a message. I flip open the phone and punch the button for voice mail. I'm prompted for his password, which, despite my protest is my birthday, and put the message on speaker phone.

"I saw Nanaki, he says you're upstairs, but he won't tell me your room number. Don't worry, I'll find you soon!" Vincent rolls over into the pillows and groans.

"Get dressed," I say, and throw him his pants.

When she knocks on the door, three minutes later, I'm sort of dressed and Vincent is in the shower.

"I'm hungry," she says without any preamble. She pushes past me and sits on the end of the unmade bed.

"Vincent is in the shower. Why don't you get us a table and we can eat –"

"I'll wait. Here's your birthday present." She chucks a brown paper bag at me, underhanded. I unroll the top of the bag to reveal a green Materia. I look up, but she's focused on a game on her phone. "Vincent says you favor Lightning, so I got you something new to try; it's a level one Master Magic."

"Thank you, Yuffie, that's really wonderful. I don't know what to –" Vincent opens the bathroom door, already dressed but for his socks. He stares at Yuffie, then the Materia in my hand.

"Is that the Master Magic I asked you for?"

"Well, it is _a_ Master Magic," she says, not looking up from her phone. "I didn't know what to get him, you said that one was on your list. Is that wrong? You are married after all." I hand the Materia to Vincent, who frowns, but takes it, and equips it in Cerberus. He checks it out, and his frown increases.

"It's cool, Vincent, we'll add it to the collection when we get home. Can I play with your Enemy Skill Materia in the Battle Arena later?"

"Of course, but there's no reason not to equip –"

"It's a level one, and does nothin' for my stats; I'd rather not get K'O immediately. I want to fight it out for the first time in years." My phone pings; the message is from Nanaki. "Nanaki has a table for us downstairs. Shall we?"

* * *

I sit with Yuffie on my right, so that I don't have to look at her and her disapproval all night. I'm not sure why she hates me so much. She's not in love with Vincent – that would just be creepy since they are related – but maybe I just don't understand family enough to understand.

Instead of trying to figure it out, I order a beer and decide to not worry about it. I toss Nanaki an appetizer, and as I sit back in my chair, a spike of pain hits. I think I cover my reaction, but I haven't.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asks, his tempura vegetables abandoned. He searches his pockets for something, but keeps his eyes glued to me. I would lie, but there is no way he'd buy it.

"It's just a little twinge; it caught me off guard, is all. Its ok, Vincent, relax, this is just informational – not actionable – right now."

He finds what he's looking for and puts the potion on the table, but does not offer it to me. He notes the time on his watch. "If it's not better in fifteen minutes…"

"Yes, I know, I'll take the potion," I snark.

"Informational? Actionable? Those are new terms," Nanaki says.

"Yeah, Vincent overreacts every time I have any pain and wants to whisk me to the doctor for the littlest thing. Most of the time it's phantom pain – totally normal – and it's a waste of time to worry because it'll pass in ten to fifteen minutes."

"The phrases are from our Turk days," Vincent expounds. "There are two kinds of information: that which should be noted for possible future action – informational – and that which requires immediate attention – actionable. Depending on which Reno codes the pain, I am allowed to act differently without causing either of us undue stress."

"That's a good idea, but this time I don't think you need to worry. Reno smells fine; he's had a little spike in his stress pheromones, but nothing else."

"Oh gross!" Yuffie says, and spits whatever she's eating into her napkin. "You just made me throw up in my mouth a little."

"Wait, you can smell when I'm in pain?"

"Of course! Do you think I arrived every time you were alone and feeling unwell by coincidence?"

"That's kinda… odd," I say, smirking. My head tilts to one side and the pain flares again, but I hide it better this time.

"It's only odd for a human," he points out. "I believe you are right, this might be a psychosomatic pain over a physical one. That happens often?"

"It's usually stress-induced."

"That makes sense. This is a big night for you," he says.

I shift and stretch out the muscles on my right side and that eases the pain.

"Like on a scale of one to ten, how bad do humans smell," Yuffie asks.

"In your case, I prefer you without the perfume, Yuffie. But each human has a very distinct smell; the more natural the better for me. In the case of Vincent and Reno, they are together so often that I have a hard time unmingling their scents. I can't rely on my nose alone to tell me which is which; I have to use other clues as well."

Vincent slips his hand to my knee and squeezes; his eyes have a pleased little glaze to them.

"What do you do to distract yourself from these informational pains normally? Perhaps we can get you through it quicker and back to dinner?" Nanaki asks.

"Usually we have sex, 'cause sex with Vincent pretty much distracts me from everything, yo."

"Uh, I've totally lost my appetite," Yuffie groans and the rest of us laugh.

* * *

After dinner, and before the rest of the group arrives leave, I beg them to wait in line with me for the Shooting Coaster. Nanaki passes, but Vincent and Yuffie go with me.

"An hour later and there'll be no line," Vincent suggests, after seeing me take a huff on my inhaler.

"But half the fun is the anticipation!" I justify. Yuffie glares at me.

"Um, ok, we can come back later, I guess," I surrender, hands up. "I wanted to come now in case it hurts more than I think it might, that way I could cry in the bathroom before everyone else gets here. But no worries. We have all night."

"It's been over two years, Turkey, you can only milk that one lung thing so much."

"I'm not –"

"Whatever," she dismisses me. Vincent watches the exchange with his eye brows raised.

"I'm going to the bathroom; how 'bout we meet in the arcade in a few minutes. They have the new G-Bike game, right?" I walk away to the end hall and I stand there, around the corner and imagine I'm smoking a cigarette. Instead I pop gum in my mouth and bite the inside of my cheek.

The sound of Vincent's sabatons comes down the hall. I know I'm not supposed to hear the conversation, but I listen anyway, because I can't help it.

"Why are you so combative with Reno? We've been married for ten years now. You came here to celebrate his birthday, but all you've done is talk shit about him. And that present, Yuffie… I just don't understand. What's the problem?"

Yuffie's feet shuffle. "I can't help it, he just annoys me. In all the time you've been together, I've never seen you smile, not once, and Vincent, you deserve to smile, a lot."

Vincent laughs in his quiet, nose-snorting way and there is movement. She squeaks, off guard, at whatever it is he's done.

"Thank you, Yuffie. I know I don't smile often enough, but it certainly isn't Reno's fault. About three months after I moved in with Reno, I had a small stroke. I didn't tell anyone, I just… disappeared and Reno found me. I couldn't speak and I could hardly move my mouth. Reno took me to a doctor, got me the help I needed, and nursed me back to good health. And when I could speak again, we flew to Costa del Sol and got married. I'm much better now, in fact, I can smile," he tells her, and she giggles; he must be demonstrating. "I can also smirk."

She laughs so hard, I almost join them.

"But I'll never regain all that I've lost. Holy knows Reno makes me smile all the time, and that's good practice, but mostly we've learned some work arounds."

"So, everything is ok between the two of you?"

"Exceedingly so."

"And he's not a burden, with all that's happened?"

"Little cousin," he says with an affection he reserves only for people he truly adores. "When you love someone as much as I love Reno, you'll know how foolish that question is."

"I was worried, because you've smile at me, so…" her foot stops shuffling.

"Some people require demonstrative displays, like you, so I put forth the extra effort, but Reno doesn't. We have other ways to express ourselves that are enough for us. He's told me I should put in more effort with other people, but I've gotten lazy in my old age."

"I'm sorry, Vincent. I'll try to see what you see, but I'll make no promises."

"I don't expect you to see the same things; I'd be disturbed if you found him fascinating. Just try to not see him as the enemy and perhaps use his name for the first time instead of the pejorative 'Turkey.'"

"I'll do it for your sake."

"Thank you, Yuffie, family has to care for each other." She skips off the other way.

"You can come out now, Reno," Vincent says, his voice amused. I peek around the corner and then follow with the rest of my body.

"I'm fascinating?" I tease.

"And profane, irascible, confounding, and –"

"Yes, yes, all the things you love about me."

"Or despite those thing." There's a smile in his eyes that negates the harsh words. I'm so used to the smile that doesn't include his lips that it doesn't even phase me.

"Did you hug her?"

"Yes," he admits, smirking.

"I _am_ a bad influence on you."


	5. Chapter 5 - Best Birthday, Ever!

Vincent wears his new "casual" sabatons for the first time on my birthday. He and Cid have worked for weeks getting them right. They're black and rounded in the toe so that unless you know what they are, they appear to be steel-toed boots. However, they support his cut tendon, allowing him to walk normally. He doesn't look "normal" by any stretch of the imagination, but he looks sexy in skinny black jeans and a black admantoise-neck shirt. He's wearing one black glove – but his other hand is bare.

"Someday," I tease, "I'll get you to wear another color, but you look hawt, so I won't complain too much."

"I have plenty of color in my wardrobe, Reno, because your hair sheds," he says, picking at a strand on this cuff.

"My hair is not thinning," I say, running a hand through my spikes. They spring back into place immediately.

He sits on the weapon's check counter as we waits for the rest of the group to arrive. My Electro-Mag Rod and Cerberus are already secured in the lockers, but that doesn't stop Barrett from complaining. Denzel secures his staff in one of the oversized lockers without comment. He's taller than I remembered, and he's filled out a bit since the Fort Condor incident. He's got more confidence, but then again, he finally worked up the courage to ask Marlene out, and the right relationship can mature any man, I'm living proof of that. He stares at her, despite all the commotion Barrett's making, in a way that reminds me of how Vincent watches me. Denzel feels my gaze and looks over. He's got a stupid, embarrassed smile on his face, but I grin back at him and give him a thumbs up. We haven't spoken about Sector Seven and my time with the Turks since that day on the airship, but he isn't hostile to me either; I'll take what I can get.

"Sir, I assure you that our system is very secure. You'll be able to access the opposite side of the locker inside the Battle Arena with the same six digit code you use on this side," the girl tries to explain it again to Barrett.

"If I take it off, then I'll be without an arm, lady. That's not happening. If you want me to unload and remove the Materia, I will, but that's the best I can do."

"Thank you, sir. Locker six," she says, directing him to the next open locker. He is the only person to complain so far… but Cid isn't here yet. Vincent and I have a five Gil bet on how many times he'll curse.

"Why'd you drag me here again?" he asks Marlene.

"To celebrate Reno's birthday, dad."

"No, Marlene, he's here for Shera's birthday. Mine being the same day is a coincidence," I snark.

"You made me come all this damn way for him?"

"Yeah, 'cause North Corel is so far away. It musta took you, what, twenty minutes?"

"Oh, sorry dad, I meant to say Shera's birthday; who'd come here to celebrate that asshole's birthday?" Marlene winks at me; I can't help grinning in return.

"You're a bad influence," he snorts at me. "That's the first time I've even heard my little girl swear."

"Hypocrite," Vincent says, then coughs.

I nudge Vincent's legs apart so that I can lean the back of my head against his chest. I use his thighs like armrests. He pulls gently on my short six inch ponytail and draws my head back. "You alright? No more pain?"

"Fine, it faded away completely before dinner ended," I exaggerate. The pain _is_ gone, but it took longer than I'd hoped. Still, I smile upside down at him and he seems to believe me. "I just want some physical contact."

He folds forward to dangle his arms over my shoulders and drops them down my chest.

* * *

Cloud is all sweaty when he and Tifa join us in the lobby.

"So, how did the battles go?" I ask.

"He's still got it," Tifa responds.

"Twelve and O," Cloud clarifies. He's dressed normally in black jeans and sleeveless vest, but somehow he looks naked without his sunglasses, gloves, and sword. "I could have kept going, but Tifa said it was the time to gather."

Tifa shrugs and smiles. She's wearing a pretty black and white sundress and sandals. She looks unreasonably happy. "Is everyone here?" she asks.

"Cid and Shera were the last to arrive," I confirm. "He's having a fit about having to leave Venus Gospel in a locker." Vincent hands me five Gil note as the count of the curses we hear from the lockers goes way past twenty.

"We're the reason they don't allow weapons in here anymore," Tifa, says giggling, "he should try to remember that."

"'Savin' the world should get ya a pass,'" I quote my brother-in-law.

"We _are_ the only people here," Cloud says.

"Except the employees and they are just protecting their people," Nanaki reminds.

"Stop talkin' about me, god-dammit," Cid complains. "I had to take Venus Gospel apart to get it to fuckin' fit."

"The same with the Fusion Sword," Cloud commiserates. "They should make bigger lockers."

From down the hall, I hear the former Turks laughing it up with Yuffie and Barrett as they come toward us. Shera hugs me with one arm from my right side. I turn and kiss her head. "Watch the ink, it's still tender," I quip.

"Another tattoo? Is there any unmarked skin left on you?"

"Oh, but you'll love this one!" I'm wearing a button down shirt with only two buttons hooked properly, because I know Vincent loves catching little flashes of my skin and, well, 'cause I'm lazy, so all I have to do is undo two buttons and pick up my right arm to show off part of the new tat

"It's less than a week old, so ignore the little bit of puffiness and red you see. That'll fade soon enough." Shera picks up the hem of my shirt and lifts it so that she can better see the tattoo that starts between the fifth and sixth intercostal space and curves back and up to end between my scapula and the thoracic vertebral spaces. Before the surgery I wouldn't have known any of those technical terms, and I still wouldn't if Nanaki hadn't tutored me in them, but it's kinda cool to be able to whip those terms out in conversation.

"You did not," Shera groans, and rubs her hands across her eyes. Tifa and Cloud come in for a closer look.

"Is that where they removed your lung?" Tifa asks. "Wow, I had thought that they'd cracked you down the middle."

"Thankfully, no. Can you image what that woulda done to my Cerberus tattoo? I'd have told um to find another way, but yup, that's the sans lung side. The scar was wicked cool, but I thought it was too serious for my personality."

"But a zipper? Really?" Shera groans again.

"I wanted gnarly barbed wire – like 'stay out, fucker' – but Vincent thought that was thuggish."

"Which is true," he says.

"I like it," Cloud says, nodding. "It says you've survived with your humor intact."

Before I can reassemble my shirt, Shera reaches out and traces her fingertips across my lower ribcage, skirting the scar/tattoo combo.

"You're too skinny," she admonishes. Everyone but Vincent and Cid find somewhere else to be.

"Yeah, but I'm better than I was six months ago, a year ago, a year and a half ago –"

"I worry about you."

"A appreciate it, but really, you can ask the President of the Clean Plate Club," I hook my thumb in Vincent's direction. "He'll tell you, I eat every bite of the carefully calorically calculated meals – six of them a day, mind you – and I snack like crazy in between them. But you've gotta remember, I've always had a stupid high metabolism and twenty pounds is a lot to pack back on in a healthy way."

"Ok, ok, it's just… two years and you're still this skinny."

"Why is everyone so obsessed with two years today?" I say, throwing my arms up. "The doc said I'd never be the same again, yo!"

"I know," Vincent says quietly. "It hurts to see him this way. I can't help but think of what happens if he gets a cold and loses his appetite or has food poisoning, he can't afford to lose anymore."

"Hey, no morose double-teaming on their birthday," Cid snarks.

"Happy birthday, Reno," Shera says, turning the conversation back to something a little less serious. I settle my shirt and redo the two buttons.

"You too, little sis, but it's no fair that you get to tell people you're twenty-five and I have to tell them I'm forty-five."

"Wait, I know that's a joke, but which one of you is actually older?" Tifa asks.

"Don't know, ma never knew, or if she did, she didn't care enough to tell us. I call her little sis 'cause she's shorter than me." Shera smacks me out of habit, then looks freightened; I laugh it off.

The lobby begins to slowly fill with people and a guy with a clipboard approaches Vincent.

"Sir, according to your guest list, everyone's here. If you would all follow me, I'm Jonathan and I'll be your guide tonight. We'll head over to the theater and go over the rules of the night."

"Best birthday ever!" I shout, and high-five Shera.


	6. Chapter 6 - Worst Birthday, Ever!

A/N: Sorry for the late posting. I've had some issues and I needed a break from the site for a while.

* * *

"This way, ladies and –" The bell announcing the arrival of a cable car sounds and we all look toward it.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Jonathan asks, smiling.

"Oh my Gaia! It's starting," I whisper into Vincent's ear while clutching at his shoulder. He chuckles.

"No," Vincent replies. "We're all here." The car arrives and we wait as the doors open. I'm biting my lip, I'm so excited!

There's no one inside? "Bummer," I say, and everyone titters.

"That's odd," Jonathan says, and steps into the car, looking both ways.

"What is?" Vincent asks; he's suddenly tense.

"Well, this is usually when our 'corpse' arrives. He should be in the car. Give me a second." He pulls out a walkie-talkie and fiddles with the nobs.

"Brody are we ago for the first act?" There is no reply; he tries again. "Come in for Brody!" The walkie-talkie squeals and then there is about three seconds of static before it goes silent.

"I'm sorry about this folks, we'll get this –" he slips coming out of the car and smacks his head on the way down. He groans and rolls over. We're all stunned into motionlessness.

"Oh my Gaia," he screams, shuffling back from something. Vincent and Cloud move forward into the car.

"What's going on?" Marlene asks. "Is this part of the game?"

"Everyone get back," Vincent barks. "Weapons now!" I'm swept along on the stampede to the lockers and then the lights go out, plunging us into utter darkness. I trip over someone, accidentally copping a feel. I roll off whoever it is without saying anything and I open my cell phone to give me some light as I continue forward.

I'm the first one there. I punch my code and it does nothing. "What the fuck!?"

"It won't open without power for security reasons," says the girl huddled behind the locker counter.

"What's going on?" I demand. "This wasn't in the brochure."

"No sir, this isn't on purpose. I don't know what's going on. This has never happened in the two years we've been offering the party." She begins crying.

"Is there a manual override? Maybe a key or something?"

"The manager has one," she sniffles. I grab her hand and we use my cell phone light to find our way back to the crowd. The lobby is illuminated with cell phones and Nanaki stands between the open car and the rest of us. He's growling low in his chest.

"With the power out, the lockers are inaccessible without the manager's keys," I report. "What's going on here?"

"Come with me," Vincent holds out his hand to me and leads me into the car. He points to the far end, which is partway into the tunnel. With the cell phone, I can barely make out the end – but then the breeze hits my face and I realize that instead of looking into the car, I can see the emergency lights of the tunnel. The whole end has been ripped away with jagged tears like claw marks.

"What did that?"

"Perhaps the same thing that did this." He points under the seat. There is a dark puddle – I turn away – and a half of a human face. A wind howls up the tunnel into the car, and Vincent pulls me back until we are on the platform.

"Get back," Nanaki shouts. The air is filled with a high pitched whine, than something in front of us snaps. The car plummets out of the station. Sparks illuminate the tunnel and after about a minute there is an explosion deep in the tunnel.

"Holy Jenova," I say, and I fall over, sitting hard on the ground, despite the fact that Vincent hasn't let go of my arm.

"Tell me there is another way out of this place!" Jade whimpers.

"Of course," says the guide. "There are two emergency exits, but they are on opposite sides of the park. Whatever did that… what if it comes after us?"

* * *

We lock the doors leading from the entrance to the main hub and barricade it with any furniture that isn't nailed down. Jonathan and the girl, Milly, cling together as we take stock.

"What do we have?" Cloud asks. "Hold nothing back."

"An empty gun arm and a Luck Plus, Speed Plus, MP Plus, HP Plus, Pre-Emptive, and EXP Plus in my Dragon Armlet," Barrett says.

"Someone came prepared for the Battle Arena," I snark, but it is all defensive, status-effect material and not much good in an actual fight.

"I was gonna beat Spikey this time!" he boasts.

"A basic issue survival knife," Tseng says. There is a chorus of "same here" from all the former Turks, except for Vincent. "And a Steal Materia."

"Knives? Let me see!"

"Don't get too excited," I say, pulling the three inch knife from my pocket. When I unfold it, his eyes fall. "It's great if we need to open a bottle, pick a lock, or take a splinter out." I demonstrate my words by unfolding the additional tools.

"No one asked for my weapon," Nanaki says, "so I'm armed and fully equipped with the offensive and defensive Materia I'd planned to use in the Battle Arena."

"What are you holding?" Cloud asks

"Slash-All and Counter Attack in Limited Moon and Restore, EXP Plus, HP Plus, and Barrier in my Silver Armlet."

"That's something at least," I sigh.

"Should we split up my Materia?" Nanaki asks.

"Without a god-damn weapon…" Cid muses.

"The Barrier and restore are still useful," Rude interrupts.

"We'll consider it," Cloud acknowledges.

Going around the circle we find we have a menagerie of stupid-ass and useless Materia among us. Even the good ones are questionable because we have no way of refilling our MP once the wells dry.

Marlene's carrying a Chocobo Lure, Restore, and Revive. I have Restore and Revive as well. Vincent has Cover and Restore. Cloud's got a Restore, HP Plus, Mega-All combined with Steal.

Each of the former Turks are carrying the same things: Restore, Barrier, Wall. Tifa has nothing.

"Nothing?" I say, "not even for defense?" It's astounding.

"Well, I didn't want to mention it, because it is so ridiculous, but I'm pregnant. I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up after my last miscarriage, and I didn't want to ruin your birthdays by making it all about me…"

"Well that makes perfect sense," Marlene nods. "The low-level Mako radiation can be harmful to a developing fetus."

"How old are you?" I blurt out, and immediately slap my hands over my mouth. Shera whaps me in the back of the head.

"Not that it is any of your business, Reno, but I'm forty-one." There are hugs and congratulations all around.

"Congrats, Cloud. I never thought you'd get your shit together. Are you finally gonna get married?" I ask.

"Let's not celebrate yet. We need to survive this first." We continue cataloging while the two scared employees stare at us like we're crazy.

Cait Sith is in the corner, groaning slightly. "Me batteries are low, I was tryin' ta get a good charge before we started the game, but it doesn'ta look like I'll be much use. Here take my Materia." He hands over a Lightning and an All. My hands twitch; the element I favor is right there, but there's a whole lot of us and not much to go around.

Rude has his gloves, an HP Plus, and a lighter.

"That's it, big guy?"

"I've always preferred my fists over magic."

Elena and Jade aren't carrying anything. Shera has random tools in her pocket – a hex key set and what looks like a 9mm combination wrench – and two tea bags.

"Well, at least Cid can have his 'god-damn tea," I say. There is a smattering of laughter.

Yuffie turns out her pockets, which are filled with stupid stuff: small fireworks, a handful of marbles, and a hair pin.

"You don't have _any_ materia?" Cloud asks, his arms crossed in disbelief.

"Well, yeah, I do… but it's all really weak stuff and I put it in the locker so no bad guys could get it. After you let Kadaj steal all my good stuff –"

"You've got to let that go, darlin'," Cid drawls. He's got an unlit cigarette dangling from his lip. "That was what? Sixteen years ago?"

She stamps her foot and looks off in the distance.

"Anyone having luck getting a call out?" Tseng asks. "I don't have any bars."

"No, my phone's never worked right in here," Tifa replies. We all look at our phones, and one by one we shake our heads.

"As I see it," Cloud takes charge, "our first priority should be getting the power back on."

"Once we do, we can have our weapons back."

"Um, excuse me," Milly says. "Once the power comes back, all the locker codes will default to the factory settings. Only the manager has access to them."

"Shit," I say, and crouch down. Vincent puts a comforting hand on the back of my neck. "And pray tell, where is the manager?"

"He radioed as soon as the power went out; he's stuck in the gondola ride. It's the fastest way between where he was and the theater."

"Okay," Cloud breathes the two syllables apart, and rubs the bridge of his nose. "So, we need multiple parties."

It takes a while, but we divide into our normal party lines, with a bit of shuffling to protect the unarmed combatants: Me, Vincent, and Nanaki; Cloud, Tifa, and Rude; Tseng, Elena, and Jade; Cid, Shera, and Yuffie; Barrett, Marlene, and Denzel.

The Materia shuffle takes a little longer. We split up the Magic Materia so that the Lightning goes with Cloud as their party heads to the breaker box. We get my defensive Materia and Nanaki's offensive, while Vincent goes with only a HP Plus. Where the rest of it goes, doesn't really matter to me. The employees stay with Barrett in the Battle Arena's locker room and Cid takes the first line of defense right beyond the barrier. Tseng's group is assigned to secure one of the emergency exits, while we get assigned the job of finding the manager. We each take one of the slick brochures from the desk and turn to the colorful map which is hugely inaccurate in sense of scale, but at least it gives us some something basic to work with. Cloud comes around to each group and marks there maps with a permanent marker.


	7. Chapter 7 - Straight Up

It is decided that we'll wear down one cell phone per group at a time. Mine is the first, since it has the least amount of charge, but mostly we don't use the flashlight. Vincent and Nanaki have excellent night vision, and if I keep one of them in sight at all times, I will avoid most of the dangers.

"First order of business is to find me a weapon of some kind," I tell them. "A chair leg or something I can hit with."

The crash of furniture comes from right in front of me, causing me to jump backward, but it is only Vincent dismantling a chair with violent kicks to the base. The leg splits free, but retains the nail at one end.

"Reminds me of Cloud's Nail Bat," Nanaki says.

"Both are inelegant weapons," Vincent replies, handing me the makeshift rod.

"Thank you. It'll have to do for now, but at least two of us are armed, sort of."

"I'm far from helpless," Vincent says.

"Never said you were, but even your gauntlet is gone. If you want to kick someone to death in your new sabatons, don't let me stop you."

"My Limit Breaks are different from the norm."

"Oh, yeah, duh! Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"If it does, focus only on low-level healing spells to keep me from K'O and once I transform, my HP will be restored. That way we can conserve your MP for when we really need it."

"Um, ok, thanks."

"Of course. This way," he says, and I put a hand on his shoulder as we creep farther into the darkness.

The Gondola Ride spans most of the park, so it is only thanks to Nanaki's nose that we are able to locate the one car that is lit from inside by a weak cell phone light. It is six cars away from the closest support beam. I look up at it in the dark and sigh. Vincent puts one foot on the lowest rung of the ladder running up the beam and it bends like butter under a hot knife.

"I think you're too heavy," I say, stupidly.

"I can't climb without the sabatons."

"How about jumping then? You've always been good at that?" Nanaki suggests. Vincent turns around in circles. He picks a direction and launches toward it. He disappears into the darkness and swears.

"No good?" I ask.

"It has to be two hundred feet high," he says when he slinks out of the darkness, rubbing his arm. "The best I could do was reach a higher rung that also broke out from under me. There's nothing to bounce off in this area. We could find one of the ends and see if I can get up from there and leap over." The little light goes out above us and the car begins to sway.

I turn to Nanaki. "Don't look at me, I don't have opposable thumbs, and I'm no lighter than Vincent."

"I guess it's a good thing I lost all that weight, yo." I put my hand on the rung right above my head and test the strength. It doesn't even groan under me. I blow out through my lips and retrieve my inhaler. I take a deep breath as I depress the plunger. I gag as it hits the back of my tongue, but I can breathe a little better already. I hand Vincent the chair leg.

"Reno…"

"I know, it's a stupid idea to have the gimp climb, but it's gotta get done."

He grabs me by the back of my head and kisses me. "Be careful," he growls into my mouth.

"I will."

Vertical ladders have always been my least favorite mode of getting from one place to another and barely twenty feet in the air, I remember why. "I hate heights," I moan, and close my eyes.

"You're a pilot, Reno, that's ridiculous," Vincent snarks.

"It's different when there's a floor beneath you."

"Just hurry up."

At fifty rungs there is a small platform. I rest there and use the inhaler again. That means I'm gonna have to make it another two hours before I can use it again – doctor's orders. The cars are swaying above me, but the sixth one is moving more than the others and it creaks as it rocks. I can't waste any more time, so I climb one rung after another, always making sure to keep three points of contact.

Every twenty-five feet or so, there is another landing and I use them to catch my breath. My watch glows in the dark, and it says I've been at this for almost fifteen minutes. My legs ache and my hands are sweaty, but I keep going up and up.

My foot slips on the rung Vincent bent with his jump attempt, probably because of the sweat left behind by my hands, and as I reach to grab for the bar below, I slip again a little further and smash my chin on the rung in front of me. I see little Chocobos dancing before my eyes. I loop my arm around the ladder and hold completely still as the world sways around me.

Vincent and Nanaki are lost to me in the darkness, but I hear them moving. When I finally clear my head, I look up. The last platform is right above me. Once I settle at the top, I'm so sick to my stomach that I want to puke.

"Heads up guys, I'm gonna vomit," I say, and then I wait until I hear them scamper back. I lean over so that I'm as far out as I can get, then I upchuck into the darkness.

"Thanks for the warning," Nanaki says.

"Yeah, no problem. I'm at the top now. There's a thick girder above me. I'm gonna go for it, try to walk across to the cars," I call out as loudly as I can.

"Alright, give us a heads up if you're going to fall. We'll try to catch you."

I pull up to the beam like I'm doing pull-ups, only this time I have to scramble over the edge. I try to stand, but there's just nothing left in my appendages, instead I wrap my legs around it and shimmy across. It's not dignified, nor cool, but it gets the job done. I used to be so good at this kinda shit...

"What's that?" Nanaki shouts.

"Incoming at twelve o'clock and two," Vincent says.

"What's going on guys?" I call down.

"There are monsters closing in on us, hurry up, so we can get out of here," Nanaki response. Vincent grunts.

"Let me know if I need to cast Cure on anyone," I say, but no one answers me. Nanaki is busy tearing something apart and Vincent is running this way and that. I focus on the car ahead of me and pick up the pace.

The walkie-talkie clipped to my back pocket squawks and the distraction makes me slip. I hold my breath as I find my balance again, but someone says my name in the static of the next call. I steady myself and pull it from my back pocket.

"Hello?"

"Reno?"

"Yes."

"It's Cloud. We need you at the electrical junction. This is way beyond us."

"I'm balanced on a beam two hundred feet in the air trying to get to the manager while Vincent and Nanaki fight off monsters below me. It's gonna be a while."

"Rude and I are holding back waves of them. Barrett says the Battle Arena cages are empty."

"Fuck."

"Come in Cloud," Tseng calls, joining the conversation.

"Yes, Tseng?"

"We've arrived at the emergency exit – without weapons this is a no-go. There are three, I repeat three, Malboros at the door. They're grouped together like a party, their tentacles waving viciously."

"Are you safe?" Cloud asks.

"We're in the air ducts, they haven't seen us. We'll keep an eye on things here, but I don't even have a ribbon – none of the ex-Turks do."

"I have one," I butt in.

"Yes, so hurry and get that damned key or code, or whatever the fuck it is, and get to the Haunted Hotel as fast as you can. The electrical room is in the sub-basement. We'll hold them off as long as we can, but I'm running out of MP," Cloud grunts.

"Got it, we'll be there as soon as we can."

 _Fuck it,_ I think. I stand and run along the girder for the last ten feet. I trip, and sprawl on the top of the car, but I'm there as it rocks wildly. There's no movement from inside, so I knock, again nothing. I look back the way I came and count again. Yes, I'm in the right place. I lower my upper body over the edge and look in. There is a form huddled in the corner.

"Watch yourself, I'm gonna break a window and get in there to help you," I warn. I switch around so that my legs dangle over the edge and I kick at the window with all my strength. The safety glass doesn't shatter, but the whole window pops in and with my momentum, I barely manage to fall through the window, instead of to my death.

Nothing moves when I enter the car, but it rocks wildly, something rolls side to side. I snap open my phone and collide with a severed arm. The manager is way dead, if all the limbs are any indication.

I paw through his mangled remains and the congealed bodily fluids. He's been dead for at least an hour, by the smell alone. I find another walkie-talkie and clip it to my belt and there, in his blood-soaked pocket, I find a magnetic card. I look everywhere, searching through the remains until I find a thick wad of keys grasped in his stiff fingers. Nope, rewind, he's been dead for at least two hours, if not more, judging by the amount of rigor mortis. I have to break the fingers to get the keys.

* * *

Getting down is worse than coming up. I can't look down, but I move as quickly as I can toward the sounds of the battles going on below me, until suddenly there's no more noise.

"Vincent? Nanaki?"

"We're on our feet, Reno. What's your status?" Nanaki calls.

"The manager is dead, but I've got his passcard and his keys. Something… ate him."

"Fabulous," Vincent says. His voice is hoarse.

"I'm moving as fast as I can."

"We know, Reno, but be careful. The field is cleared."

"Cloud called," I say as I continue to climb down. "He needs us at the hotel."

"Oh," Vincent says.

"Are you both alright?" I ask.

"We've been better," Nanaki says and that makes my blood grow cold. I get down the ladder in less than ten minutes.


	8. Chapter 8 - Welcome to the Club

"Well, that shirt's ruined," I say. Vincent is on his feet, but there are three parallel slash marks across his chest and stomach. They aren't bleeding anymore, which is the only reason I'm not panicked.

"And I liked this one." He shrugs. There are no body parts lying around, which means everything went to the Lifestream, unlike the poor sod upstairs.

"What was that about Cloud again? I was not myself at that point."

"He needs me to fix the electricity. I guess it didn't just go off. So, Gigas?"

"Hellmasker. Our opponents were a combination of various elementals. I couldn't take the chance of healing them."

"I know how much you hate that one; I'm sorry it came to that. Do you need me to heal you?"

"How's your MP?"

"Full," I say.

"Then yes, I could use the boost." The fact that he lets me heal him, speaks louder than the haggard look on their faces.

We avoid as much of the fighting as we can, but get drawn into skirmishes all the way along. Vincent insists that I take his Long Range Materia and stick to the back row to act as healer for the party, but I get some licks in anyway. In exchange, he takes my Revive since I only have two slots. It's strange not needing it anymore.

"Cloud, come in," I radio ahead.

"Go for Cloud."

"We are in serious need of healing, buddy. I'm down to my last hundred MP and we're fading. Any ideas?"

"Where are you now?"

"We're heading your way, but we're still on the other side of the hub."

"I'm on it. Just keep moving this way. Tseng come in."

I clip the walkie-talkie back to my belt, but we can still hear the conversation.

"This is Tseng."

"What's your status there?"

"We're still in the air vents. There's been no new movement to speak of since we lasted reported in."

"Ok, then I need you to move into Wonder Square. There's a claw machine game in the arcade full of potions and we're in desperate need of them."

"Roger that; we're getting nowhere fast here anyway."

We stop into the Ghost Square Shop on our way into the hotel and Vincent throws twenty Gil on the counter for payment and takes a black t-shirt with the Gold Saucer logo on it. He changes in the store while Nanaki and I watch for more encounters with monsters.

We're down to our last few HP/MP points; Nanaki can barely stand, he's so drained, and when I look out the display window I see three Tonberry's lurching our way.

"Hurry, hide," I whisper and shove Vincent back toward a door behind the register; I don't have time to see if Nanaki has found cover as I push Vincent inside our hiding place and close the door as quietly as I can.

The closet is pitch black until I snap open my cell phone and look around us for weapons. We have maybe one square foot of space for each of us and as I move the phone in a slow, sweeping arc, black plastic eyes stare back at us from a cache of stuffed animals.

"Fuck," I sigh. Vincent is ridged and his hand clenches at my wrist, squeezing tighter and tighter.

"It's ok, baby, we only have to stay here until it leaves. We aren't trapped, we're hiding, we can open the door anytime we want," I say, quietly into his ear. "A little less pressure, ok? You're breaking my wrist."

He breathes loudly through his nose, but releases his grip on me. I change positions and thread my fingers though his. "It's ok," I tell him. "We take up less space when we fuck, right?"

He snorts and for a second I think I've got him passed the worst of this completely warranted fear of enclosed spaces. Something bangs against the door; it rattles but holds. I close the phone and the light dies. In the tight space, he swings me around so that he is between me and the door and then he covers our heads with his arms.

The door buckles, but does not budge as a second assault comes from the outside. My vision start to adjust, and now his eyes are so lost in the panic, he doesn't see anything but the nightmares of his past.

"Yeah, baby," I say into his ear, mindful not to raise my voice. "When we're all naked and sweaty and you're inside me, we're all close like this. And I moan for you –"

"No you don't," he replies in a similar whisper.

"You're right," I say, bumping my groin against him and I growl into his hair, "I scream for you, demanding that you fuck me harder and faster."

"You have such a dirty mouth," he chides.

"I do, and you love it, I can tell," I leer, drawing my hand down the front of his pants. "Wanna fuck while we wait?"

"As charming as that invitation sounds…," he chuckles.

"Guys, hey, guys," Nanaki snuffles from the other side of the door, "they're gone, let's get going!"

* * *

The thought of the stairs leading up to the hotel turns my already uneasy stomach, so I turn my back on them for a moment and watch the things gaining on us.

"If only I had enough MP/HP I'd fight the battle just so I could walk slowly up the stairs," I sigh. Vincent looks at me, then lowers his center of gravity and throws me over his shoulder so that my right ribcage is next to his head and he runs. It's not the most dignified way I've ever gotten somewhere, but rarely does anyone think of Reno and dignified in the same sentence.

Tseng's party gets there ahead of us, so no one looks as bad as we do when we get there. Cloud shoves two bottles at me and I swig them both; I feel better almost immediately. I take the empties to the recycling bin and something shiny across the lobby catches my eye. Vincent is drinking bottle after bottle of potion, but I walk to the display cabinet as if I'm being pulled on an invisible line.

"Reno?" Cloud asks. I should be walking down the hall and into the sub-basement, I should be repairing the power, but I can't take my eyes off of it.

The little placard on the top of the display says: _From the Private Collection of Jack Shin-ra._ I grin and put my hand flat against the glass, my forehead rests on the edge of the collection case.

"Reno?"

There's a small lock at the bottom of the case; I sink to my knees and pull the survival knife from my pocket. I unfold one tool, twist it into the lock, and slide the glass panel open.

It's on the back of the first shelf, behind an early Shin-ra cadet cap. I can't even see anything else but it, and when my hand closes on the grip I moan. Dammit, yes, I moan like some sorta whore, but I don't actually care. The grip is so different from the leather binding of the Electro-Mag Rod; this is somehow more perfect. My fingers dig into the cushy material, and it conforms to my hand. A giggle spills out of my mouth.

Vincent puts a hand on my shoulder; I know it's him because he's done the same thing a thousand times in our relationship. It's a gesture of support, not admonition, so I take comfort that he's here with me in this Holy strange moment. I wobble to my feet and he's there with a hand on my right elbow.

I slip my left hand through the leather strap and flick my wrist, it telescopes smoothly, without all the gratuitous sounds I'd expected from such an old metal weapon. I adjust my grip as the balance changes and again the grip molds flawlessly to my hand. I shiver, but manage to suppress the giggle waiting to escape my mouth. There's a button built into the hilt and as I depress it, the shaft glows green. I touch my fingertips to it and receive a nasty little shock.

"What was it like when you found Death Penalty?" My voice sounds far away. I regret mentioning the weapon he'd lost for good as soon as the words leave my tongue.

"It was… profound," he replies. "Is this your Ultimate Weapon? What's its name?"

"Truncheon, and I think so. I've been waiting for this my entire life." I realize my mouth is open in an undignified way and I'm drooling a little, but I don't give a shit. I use the shoulder of my shirt to wipe my mouth.

"Welcome to the club," Cloud says, impatiently. "Now, can you please go look at the junction box and see if you can do anything about it?

"What? Oh yeah! Sorry about that. I'd figured after all that had happened to me, that I'd never get the chance to have my Ultimate Weapon, or ever find out what my next Limit Break was. This is really surprising." He stares at me and Vincent nudges me softly.

"Yes, I'll get going now. Can I have Tifa and Jade?"

"What for?"

"An extra set of eyes to watch my back," I say, pointing to Tifa, then I turn to Jade, "and an extra set of hands." Cloud nods, and the ladies head toward the basement. I'm still moving like I'm underwater, but seeing them hurry, I pick up the pace.

"Wait," Vincent says. "Take this." He hands me my Revive Materia which I'd given him in exchange for his Long-Range. I pop out his Materia and pop mine back in.

"It's nice not to need that to live, but I'll feel better with it back in place," I say. I hand him the other orb, but he shakes his head.

"Keep it for now." The curve of his lips says he's amused and proud all at the same time. I equip Truncheon for the first time and I'm awed by what it does for my stats. I shake my head; I don't have time for this. Vincent, Nanaki, and Cloud take up a place in the lobby, blocking the hallway, as the next wave of monsters swells into the hotel.

Tifa leads the way down into the hotel kitchen and through a door marked: Electrical Access. We take a staircase down and I use Truncheons' glowing green light as a flashlight in the gloomy, tight space.

"If you don't mind watching our backs, Tifa." I gesture at the door. "Jade, I'm going to need you to hold this up for my light. The button is in the grip." As I pass the weapon over it goes dark and it takes her a few seconds to find it again. Without it in my hand, I feel a panic rise in my throat and I want nothing more than to take it back from her. How does Vincent do it? How does he live without Death Penalty; how was he so casual the first time he let me fire Cerberus?

The light comes back on as she finds the button, and I open the panel. This isn't just some malfunction, the wires have been purposefully cut. Most people would have cut them right down the middle, but whoever did this understood what he was doing. The wires are all cut comically close to the terminus so that the little bit of wire left on the one side is almost impossible to work with.

"Can you do anything?" Tifa asks after I've stared at the problem for close to forty seconds.

"Of course I can, Momma," I say, and smirk at her. I pull out the survival knife for a second time tonight so that I can strip the wires.


	9. Chapter 9 - You're Not Supposed to

The lights flicker for a few seconds and finally stabilize, blinding us all.

"Is that too much, yo?" I laugh as I close the box and take Truncheon back from Jade.

"Haha, very funny Reno, but how do we keep whoever did this in the first place from coming back and doing it again?"

"Can anyone hear me?" Denzel's voice comes across the walkie-talkie. I grab for it, but Cloud answers first.

"This is Cloud, go ahead."

"The lockers have power again. All the displays read 'default.' Our codes won't open them as we suspected."

"Someone will be with you shortly," Cloud answers.

"I don't know," I answer Tifa's question. I look around and spot a tool box. I rummage through and find a soldering iron; I smirk.

"Cloud to Reno's team."

I hand Tifa the radio while I plug in the iron. "I'll need three or four minutes for this to heat up and another couple to seal up the panel."

"Go for Tifa," she responses.

"What's your ETA?"

"Ten minutes. If you want to go –"

"No, we stick together," Cloud barks.

* * *

The nice thing about having three separate parties is that we can stack the weakest party members in the middle, which are essentially Elena, Jade, and Tifa. It's not bad enough that we are only partially armed, but we are also heavily outnumbered with a Tonberry and three Malboro standing in front of the exit.

Cloud has the chair leg I was using earlier and he stands between us and the two monsters, Nanaki and Vincent step up with him. Tseng, Rude and I face off against six Ghosts that close in from the rear. Every time I strike one, it disappears, but Tseng is able to Mug each of them as they return, earning us six Ghost Hand Items. He hands them back to Elena who moves them along to Vincent, Cloud, and Nanaki. They alternate, attacking, using the items, and restoring their MP. Nanaki casts Lightning Three on all the targets and the smell of ozone fills the air. I take a deep breath and feel better as my Element calls to me.

It takes far too long to beat down the Malboros and every time one of them casts Bad Breath, Elena and Jade are hit the worst. We have to make the hard call to let them stay affected by the statuses. Luckily, neither of them can hit worth a shit while unarmed and it makes the whole thing more comical than deadly. Once our fight is over, Tseng unequips the Steal Materia and throws it to Vincent, who is just about to hit his Limit Break. He nods his thanks, equips and steals an M-Tentacle from the Malboro and an Elixir from the Tonberry. He manages to toss the Elixir to Cloud before he triggers his Limit Break – Gigas. The combination of Cloud with his full health and magic, Nanaki with a full-functioning Lightning, and Vincent's dreadful attacks eventually wears down the enemies.

Elena blunders about in circles as the Confuse status continues to affect her even after the battle concludes. Jade snores, crumpled in a heap on the ground. Tseng watches his wife for a second, then consults his watch. "It should fade in a few minutes," he tells himself, more than us. Elena strikes out at Rude, but he sidesteps and she misses.

"We can't wait a few minutes," Cloud says. "Just slap her and get her back to her senses."

"I volunteer," I shout. "I've always wanted to smack 'Laney." Tifa shakes Jade until the girl regains her sense.

"No way," Tseng protests. "If anyone is going to strike my wife, it's me." We all wait for him to move. "Never mind, that just sounds wrong. Go ahead, Reno, but I'm watching you."

I wait until Elena spins toward me and I smack her. It may have been a little harder than necessary, but she snaps to attention and rubs her face.

"Thanks, Senpai! I was getting nauseous."

* * *

Barrett and Denzel are finishing off a trio of Frogs when we arrive at the Battle Arena. Nanaki grabs the last one by the back of its head and shakes it until it disappears.

"You're late, bitches," Barrett calls, smiling.

I rush passed the others and give the keycard and key chain to Milly. She does some sort of administrative magic and all the lockers pop open. Cloud grabs his sword, Venus Gospel, and Conformer and rushes out to where our last party is still fighting unarmed.

Vincent steps up to our shared locker and pulls Cerberus and its holster out and secures it to his leg. I reach over him, grabbing the Electro-Mag Rod and pull out all the Materia to reload my armor; it sucks that Truncheon has no slots, but there is no way I'm ever giving it up. He's tugging up the gauntlet when Denzel suddenly steps back from his locker, his mouth agape.

"Re, Re, Reno," he stutters out my name. I turn and look, but I can't register it, it's too unreal. The timer on the device reads fourteen minutes.

"It's a bomb," I finally say as the clock runs down second by second.

"Evacuate everyone," Vincent orders and the room empties but for me, Vincent, and Rude.

Rude pushes me aside and gets his upper body into the space around the bomb. "I can't see the wires and I'm afraid it will have some sort of secondary trigger. Reno, go around the other side and open the locker. Tell me what you see."

I'm running even before he finishes his sentence, and Vincent is right behind me, picking off minor enemies with a single shot of the tri- arrel weapon. Each shot is impossibly loud in the corridor, but I make it to the other side and he keeps things off me. The door is already open, and I've got my head half in the locker and I'm dripping sweat.

"There are three wires and none of them are in the right place," I tell Rude.

"Amateurs," he mutters. I pull out my knife with the intention stabbing it in the wrong places and hoping it doesn't go boom in my face, when Rude clears his throat.

"Vincent," he says, and makes the hand signal for _take him out._ I stand up, confused by the whole thing and bump my head on the top of the locker.

"Take who out?" I ask, turning, but Vincent moves too fast and I stumble as he hits me on the back of the head. I'm not unconscious as he drags me away, but I'm dazed so that I can't fight back.

"Rude…" I slur.

Cloud rushes back to us and Vincent drops me in his arms "Fly," he shouts, and hustles back into the locker room. Cloud has me in a strangle hold, making it hard from me to breathe. We fly through the air, him moving forward, me backward, _Vincent!_ So I see it when the world dies and the bomb explodes.

"Motherfucker!" I scream, "You're not supposed to die before me you asshole."


	10. Chapter 10 - Tough Calls

We fall, crashing into something and the lights above us explode one after another. _Vincent!_ The cars of the sky ride begin to fall like pearls from a broken necklace. I lay stunned as Cloud bursts into motion, slashing at the cars as they fall and rescuing everyone in the oncoming path. I lay there watching the world burn and crumble about me and I realize… _Vincent! ..._ I don't give a shit about anything else.

I should move – I know that in my bones, that Vincent would be furious at me for not moving – but I see the car plunging toward me and I close my eyes and stretch out my arms, welcoming it. The Lifestream was nice that time I was there and this time it would be my choice to stay… _Vincent!_

Nanaki springs over me and casts Wall as the flaming wreckage hits from above us. It doesn't stop everything and my new Limit Break sparkles as a possibility. It's called 'Turk's Burden' and that would be funny if I had anything left. Idly I activate it, hoping that it is something spectacular I can kill myself with, but it automatically targets me and the closest two people. _Vincent!_ Fuck, it's defensive; I stop the process.

I'm hyperventilating as Nanaki licks my face, trying to rouse me. I can't breathe; Vincent is the only reason I'd taken each breath and suffered through the last two years, the only reason I filled my lung. _Vincent!_ I curl onto my side and sometime later, Nanaki grabs me by the back of my shirt and drags me toward the hub. I don't have the energy to fight him and Truncheon drags along, still attached to my wrist.

There is a third explosion and Shera cradles my head on her lap. She's crying and I think it is my fault, but I have no comfort to give her, not even lies.

Marlene kneels by our sides. "Is he hurt physically? she asks.

"I don't know," Shera responds. I'm bathed in a green glow and my HP soars.

"Leave me the fuck alone," I mutter. Marlene shakes her head and continues to look me over for wounds. _Vincent!_

Cloud begins issuing evacuation plans and Cid, Barrett, and Cloud clear the way, destroying the remaining Malboros with a single attack of the Fusion Sword.

As the floor cracks and breaks loose, smoke billows into the hub. What is left of the Battle Arena crashes down to the land below, leaving only an open maw of pain into the early morning sunlight. _Vincent!_ A projectile crashes into the floor tossed from the falling debris and something else black swoops down after it. Nanaki growls, standing between us and whatever is coming, but it doesn't matter anymore. _Vincent!_ The heat is so intense I roll onto my back to escape it.

"What the hell?" Cloud asks, and I turn my head to see. A figure emerges from the smoke, it is black from head to foot with patches of white underneath and it is dragging something behind it. My eyes open a little wider, and I sit bolt upright. _Vincent!_ I stumble over Nanaki in my hurry to get there.

"Vincent!" He lurches to a halt as he sees me pushing past the others and hurtling over the debris. Others rush in my wake. Vincent's left arm is mangled and lame at his side; below the elbow the bone, sinews, and muscle are clearly visible. His left eye is scrunched shut and blood leaks down his face. He's covered in sot and ash.

"Rude," he says, gasping. He points with a nod of his head to the thing he's dragging behind him. "Say goodbye before it is too late."

I'm torn, but I do as he says and fall to my knees in front of the first person to recognize anything good within me. "Hey partner," I say, keeping it light. "And you say I like to have all the attention. That was bullshit man, I coulda helped ya defuse that thing in time."

"When you touched the other door, the timer sped up. There was no time and really –" he coughs. "You're shit when it comes to making bombs."

"I made the one that dropped Sector Seven," I argue.

"No you didn't. That one was rigged so badly I replaced it with one I made."

"You should have told me. You're such an asshole."

"I know, but you love it," he says, smirking. His hazel eyes, so soft and soulful, dim, and then he's gone, just a moment of green light and it lifts up into the breeze and disappears. All that's left are his sunglasses, which fall to the ground, unbroken. I pocket them.

When I turn back, Marlene is directing as Cid and Barret carry Vincent's prone form on a makeshift stretcher toward the door. I'm still dazed and confused, but I catch up to them.

"How is he?" I ask Marlene.

"I'm not sure. He's… different than any normal patient. His HP is seriously low, he's in shock, and even Cure Three isn't working. If it hadn't been for his Limit Break…" I don't hear anything else, but suddenly I remember my own new Limit Break. I access Truncheon and activate it. Green Healing light spreads over me and Vincent and Marlene. I stumble as my HP drains by ninety percent and Vincent and Marlene split the remainder of what I've lost. Tseng runs up as I crumple and half-carries, half-drags me out of the Gold Saucer and into the same ambulance they've just placed Vincent into.

* * *

It's my turn to make all the hard decisions, as I wait for Vincent to regain consciousness in the WRO hospital run by the Golden Chocobo.

"The damage to the arm is extensive," Marlene explains to me. "We can't save it. I recommend amputating it, and the sooner the better; I think his body is… hibernating, for a lack of a better term, in order to cope with the loss and pain. There's so much damage, we might be able to save some of the upper arm and shoulder."

His right hand is clutched in my hands and I worry at the wedding ring he's always worn on the wrong hand. I didn't like it at first, but now I'm grateful it isn't on his left hand – it would be gone, like the two fingers he's missing.

The wound isn't as bad as she thinks it is. Marlene incorrectly classifies the black skin as new damage, but everything below the elbow is unsalvageable anyway. The gauntlet – which undoubtedly saved his face when he put it up in front of the worst of the explosion – is melted into his shredded flesh. Every once and a while, the fingers on his left hand spasm.

"You know him better than anyone, Reno. What would he want us to do?" she asks.

"Take it all," I whisper. "He'd rather have a clean start."

"Ok," she says, going off to make the arrangements.

"I hope that's right, Vincent. I pray I'm right." I stand and go over to the left side of the bed and I touch the fingers I've just doomed. "Gaia, help me. I'd better be right."

* * *

We don't have to wait long and Nanaki and Tseng sit with me once they take Vincent into surgery.

"Was this how it was when I had my surgery?" I ask them.

"No, we were in a theatre overlooking the operation. We actually watched them cut you; we watched you die," Nanki answers. "It was hard to see, but I think it is harder not know what's going on."

"I'm not sure which is worse," Tseng says. The lighted clock on the wall turns green, meaning the surgery has begun. He gets up and begins to pace. Nanaki puts a paw on my leg.

About fifteen minutes into the surgery, the light changes to yellow and Marlene comes out. She's pale and her eyes are wide.

"I'm not sure we'll be able to do the surgery," she tells me, taking a seat beside me. "He just transformed into Death Gigas; thank Holy we had him restrained. He regressed only after we gave him three tranquilizers, but he scared the hell out of the entire surgical team. Can you think of anything we can do…?"

Nanaki and Tseng exchange glances. I stand up and stretch.

"Let me – what is it called? – scrub in? Let me hold his hand and talk to him while you operate. It's not guaranteed to work, but if he knows I'm there, he might relax, even subconsciously."

"It's worth a try, come on."


	11. Chapter 11 - I'll Be Ready

Marlene helps me dress and scrub down. I won't be actually touching any of the sterile field, but she makes me wear a mask and hat over the medical clothing. I am given a stool and I carefully place myself so that I can hold his right hand without disturbing all the lines attached to it and rest my chin on his shoulder.

"Vincent," I whisper into his ear. "I'm here, I've got you." I nod to the surgeon who slices into Vincent's flesh. I only watch my husband's face for signs of distress. The monitor blares an alert as Vincent's pulse and blood pressure shoot up. Even unconscious, he growls.

"Vincent, you're finally gonna get rid of that damn arm, but you've gotta hold back your friends," I tell him. His right fingers curl around my hand and his head lolls toward the sound of my voice. His eyelids flutter open. The left one is still swollen and the bruise around it is a dark purple, but his eye looks undamaged.

"Hey, baby," I say. "You've got beautiful eyes. I didn't think I'd ever see them again."

"He's awake?" the doctor asks.

"Just keep going," I say, not looking away from Vincent's crimson eyes as tears leak down his cheek. "I'll take full responsibility." He tries to opens his mouth to say something, but the anesthetic has paralyzed him. The doctor's confer for a moment, then continue.

"It's gonna hurt, Vincent, but if you can keep _them_ back, it will be over soon."

Marlene, who is assisting the surgeon, waves until she get my attention. She flashes her gloved hands until she counts sixty. I nod my understanding. "You've only got to hold out for about an hour. Hell, you've endured worse for longer. This will be like a day at the beach in comparison."

The monitors quiet as Vincent's pulse and blood pressure fall into his normal range. His chest expands with one long respiration and then his breathing slows to a resting rate. His eyelids close. I sit up a little bit and watch the doctors. I narrate the best I can to Vincent. Like me, he always does best when he knows what is happening. I'm not sure if he's awake or asleep, but he's aware of what's going on and he's at peace – that's what I tell myself at least.

By the time the doctors anchor the socket for the prosthetic shoulder joint into his raw wound, I have almost no voice left. I'm parched and trying to work up spit anyway I can, but he's not resisting and he's alive – the rise and fall of his chest confirm that – and that's all that matters.

* * *

As they roll him into recovery, Marlene offers me a bottle of water, which I down in one long gulp, forgetting to breathe myself.

"That was amazing, Reno, you should have gone into medicine," Marlene tells me. She pulls off her mask and cap and I disrobe as soon as the water is gone.

"Nah, I couldn't do that with anyone other than Vincent."

"I bet you could," she says. "But I won't argue with you. You need some rest now. With his low Vitality, he'll probably sleep hard for a few hours, even if he wasn't out during the surgery, he'll be now as his body heals. His Spirit is high though –"

"His Spirit soared after he met you, Reno," Nanaki brags on me. "He'll be fine, just believe in him."

"I didn't for those few minutes when I thought he was dead; I won't ever make that mistake that again."

* * *

"Even Vincent took a break to pee while he was waiting for you to wake up," Nanaki teases me. I haven't looked away from my husband in so long, that when I turn to Nanaki, I feel dizzy. "Gaia, Reno, your eyes are practically floating. Go to the bathroom."

"But I want to be here when he wakes up," I whine. We're still in the recovery room, so there is no close bathroom. I'd checked that out on our way here, when I had to go an hour ago.

"What's the likelihood of him waking up in the next five minutes? Just go, if he wakes up, I'll tell him you went to the bathroom. Knowing him, he'd be thrilled that you were taking care of yourself."

I nod and carefully work my fingers loose from Vincent's. I kiss his forehead and then dash out and down the hallway to the bathroom. I pull at the door, but it is locked.

"Just a sec," says a female voice from inside.

"Please hurry, it's an emergency," I call back.

"Going as fast as I can, sonny."

"Please, please, please," I chant, dancing around in circles. I put my forearm against the wall and rest my head on it. I count the seconds aloud in my head and at forty-three, the door pops open and the oldest woman I've ever seen traipses out of the bathroom, a piece of toilet paper dragging from her shoe. I slip in behind her and shut the door.

I pull open my fly and stand there, tool in hand and I can't pee because I've been holding it for so long, my anxiety soars. I stand there over the bowl and take long deep breathes until my bladder finally releases and empties. The counter in my head keeps rolling and I've been gone for almost two minutes when I rush through washing my hands and grab a single paper towel on my way from the room. I sprint back down the hall and overshoot the room, skid to a halt, and throw myself into the doorway. Vincent is, of course, awake and sitting up.

"I'm gone two minutes and nineteen seconds," I grouse, smiling. "And you wake up."

"See, I told you," Nanaki chuffs. "You should have pretended to be asleep until he came back.

"Would you like me to go back to sleep, so you can be here this time?" he yawns. "I really don't think that'll be much of a problem for me."

"No," I say, hiking my hip up onto the bed. I sit on his left side and reach over to take his right hand.

"Tell me what happened, all of it," he says.

"They've amputated your arm, I told them to take all of it, up to the shoulder. I hope I did the right thing."

"I meant at the Golden Saucer, but yes, you did the right thing. I've wanted it gone for years, but didn't have the guts to rip it off myself."

"At the Saucer, yeah," I say. I'm not sure how to put it into words.

"We all escaped," Nanaki answers for me, "with the exception of Rude. We thought you were both dead, the park was falling down around us, we were all in shock, and then you swooped in and brought him back to us, but he didn't make it."

"I got to say goodbye," I whisper, tears forming in my eyes again.

"I'm glad. I'm sorry, Reno, I heard you cursing at me when I gave you over to Cloud, but I had to try and save him. He was your brother – in everything but biology – and he deserved my best try. I'm sorry I couldn't save him."

There are so many things I want to say: hateful things, loving things, stupid things, smart-ass things, but I can't put any of them into words.

"I know," I finally choke out, "I love you."

He shakes my hand loose and touches my check, collecting the tears there.

"And I love you, Reno. Thank you for making the hard call when I couldn't. I think I need to sleep now, come." He reaches across his body and pats the empty space next to him. I get up, kick off my boots, and settle in so that my empty chest cavity rests against his armless side.

"Hey, we almost make one whole person," I say, as he leans forward enough for me to slip my arm behind him. He settles into me, his head on my shoulder, and is asleep in seconds.

* * *

When I wake up later that same day, Nanaki is gone and Elena and Cloud sit on the couch next to the bed. He's texting furiously and she's consulting a map.

"What's going on?" I ask. Vincent startles awake, reaching for Cerberus, but it is safely inside the nightstand.

"Relax, Vincent, it's just us," Cloud beats me to it.

"Where's Nanaki?" Vincent asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Taking a break, we've been taking turns watching you. After what we've discovered in the last few hours… there's was no way we'd leave you unprotected."

"What did you find out?"

"They're back," he says, not having to say the words out loud.

"I thought you took care of them after the Fort Condor incident?" I ask.

"So did I. We swept everything off the board while you were still recovering, but apparently it goes deeper than we surmised."

Elena's hands say: _It's not safe to talk here._ Cloud nods.

"How long did they say it would be until you're ready to go? We want the whole team on this," he says.

"I don't know." Vincent looks at me.

"Marlene already has the prosthetic arm ready, but you have to be awake long enough for them to fit it. Six weeks of rehab…" I shrug.

"Good, as soon as you're fitted, we're heading to Seventh Heaven for a strategy meeting," Cloud says loudly, but Elena signs: _Cosmo Canyon._

"I need to talk to Cid," Vincent says. "Where's my cell phone?"

"We didn't find it," I tell him, handing him mine.

"Damnit, how I'll have to learn a whole new phone system," he grumbles, then hits the speed dial on my phone and switches to speaker. He knows my phone better than he did his own. "Get me one of these, will you?"

"Is he awake yet?" Cid's hoarse twang comes over the phone.

"I'm awake," he answers. "I'll need a rapid loader –"

"I'm already on in, Vinny, I needed somethin' ta do while we waited for news on ya. I'll have a prototype done by the end of the day," Cid laughs.

Vincent hits the end call button on the phone.

"I'll be ready, whenever you call, Cloud," Vincent says, and suddenly I have chills.

* * *

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I'm still working on the fourth and final story in this saga of Vincent and Reno. Keep an eye out for Boss Fight coming soon. Thanks again for all your help making this story worth writing - Kazu


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